Rutgers University-Newark's Black Boy Joy Conference

The Black Boy Joy Conference is where culture, creativity, healing, and leadership collide—a full-day experience built for Black boys and young men, by the community that believes in them.

Sponsored by the Chancellor’s Office, the Prudential Chair in Business, and the Rutgers University–Newark Social Work Department, co-chaired by Dr. Natalie Muñoz and Ms. Kaleena Rogers, this event is organized by the Black Boy Joy Conference Committee, a powerful collective of faculty, staff, students, alumni and local nonprofit leaders and social workers, dedicated to uplifting and celebrating Black manhood across the diaspora.

This conference brings together middle school, high school, and college students, along with alumni, faculty, and staff, to celebrate the full diversity of Black manhood, including African American, AfroLatinx, AfroCaribbean, African, and multiracial identities. Grounded in safety, vulnerability, authenticity, mentorship, and collective joy, the event creates space for young Black men to grow, heal, and thrive.

✨ What to Expect:
Real conversations. Real community. Real growth.

• Barbershop Talk at True Cuts on healthy masculinity and identity
• Roundtable discussions facilitated by Black male social workers, psychologists and local community leaders:
• Confidence & Entrepreneurship
• Men & Mental Health
• Black Male Queerness
• Emotional Intelligence
• Love, Family, & Relationships
• Joy as Resistance
• Authenticity & Self-Discovery
• The Future Black Male Leader

🎨 Creative & Joy-Activated Sessions:

• DJ Skills Workshop
• Spoken Word Workshop
• Drumming Circle
• Salsa Workshop
• Photography & Visual Storytelling and more!

🎓 PLUS:
A Rutgers student-led lunch panel on Navigating College as a Black Male, offering real insights, guidance, and connection from Black male scholars who’ve walked the path.

Black boys and young men across the country face rising mental health challenges and fewer spaces to show vulnerability or seek support. This conference pushes back against those barriers, creating a day dedicated to healing, identity exploration, leadership, joy, and cultural affirmation.

Through movement, breathwork, creative expression, barbershop conversations, mentorship, and community, we are building a world where Black boys know they are seen, valued, protected, and loved.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Dra. Natalie Munoz, LMSW